


Going To War (The Saving The World With Robots Remix)

by navaan



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pacific Rim (2013), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Crossover, First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Pre-Avengers (2012), Remix, Tony Stark Does What He Wants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 16:04:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4228170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Look, I build it, I fly it. That's the deal. You want the Jaeger, you take the deal.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going To War (The Saving The World With Robots Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [misura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/gifts).
  * Translation into Русский available: [Going To War / Грядёт война](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10501197) by [sverhanutaya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sverhanutaya/pseuds/sverhanutaya)
  * Inspired by [To the Sky](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2221347) by [misura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura). 
  * In response to a prompt by [misura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura) in the [remixmadness2015](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/remixmadness2015) collection. 



> Written for [Remix Madness 2015](http://remixers-lounge.livejournal.com/115326.html) as a remix of [To the Sky](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2221347) by Misura.
> 
> This work was translated into Russian here: https://ficbook.net/readfic/5307428

The lights in the construction hall were getting dim and noises around him were dying down. Workers were finishing up, only a few of them were going to work through the night like him. He was sitting on a platform in front of the new improved Jaeger he was building to save the world. He preferred working alone, running another scan to make sure things were progressing as planned. The planet was running out of time and much as it pained him to admit it, Iron Man was no longer enough to make a difference.

The green numbers were passing in front of his eyes and he hummed in agreement. Most of this work would be so much easier with JARVIS at his back, but he refused to give SHIELD access to his AI and in turn SHIELD had refused them access to their systems.

The Jaeger would be a piece of work and he already knew he could not trust this baby to anyone. He knew what happened when his weapons got into the wrong hands. And now this robot was hope for mankind, but it remained a weapon too powerful to give away.

He sat there, one leg drawn up on the metal platform one dangling over the edge, and contemplated the oversized machine. 

It wasn't that different from a suit.

And even if he rarely took his suits out for a spin these days, he was still Iron Man. Just one little problem there: Iron Man alone wouldn't be enough to pilot a Jaeger.

There were footsteps somewhere below him and he looked down into the semi-darkness there. A tall man had stopped in the shadow of his new machine, contemplating it just like he had a minute ago. The stranger was tall and wearing ill fitting clothes and a blue baseball cap. Tony stared, sure he hadn't ever seen this man around the SHIELD dome before.

When the man looked around, and finally caught him sitting above him, he nodded. “Working late?”

“It's kind of what I do,” he said. He closed his laptop with a snapping sound, reached for the bag full of dried blueberries beside it and quickly climbed down the ladder, following a hunch. “Like it?” he asked when he came to stand beside the man and also looked up at the new generation of Jaeger.

“It's... impressive,” the stranger said, carefully. “I just wish there was no need for it.”

Tony sighed. “You and me both.” He finally got a glimpse of blond hair and blue eyes from where he was standing now, recognizing him instantly. He held out the hand that wasn't holding the bag of fruit and said: “Tony Stark. And you must be Captain America – who I don't know anything about by the way. Not that he was found and not that he's been living on the SHIELD Helicarrier or anything.”

“How... did you...?”

“Don't you listen, I don't.” Then he grinned and admitted: “I have my ways. And I don't trust SHIELD. Not when it comes to things like this.”

“Steve,” the man said and held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Steve.” He shook his hand and then held out the bag of blueberries. Steve carefully snatched a few berries and started munching. “What brings you out to the dome at night? It's not the present company, is it? And you're not on a mission.”

It was strange to see such a tall, strong man fidget. Then Steve looked up again at the Jaeger. “I was tired of sitting around, waiting. I need to do something.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “I know the feeling. When this baby is finished, I'm going to take her out. It's time that this ends once and for all. I was thinking of naming her the Iron Lady.”

Steve snorted and then grinned. “You used to be Iron Man. I read your file.”

“Still am.”

“Are they going to let you pilot her?” 

He really had been reading Tony's file then, knew that Fury didn't trust Tony any more than Tony trusted SHIELD, not when it came to winning a war, only when it came to building them the machine that might make the difference. “I build her, I fly her. That's the deal.” He'd made up his mind about that and he wasn't going to budge.

“You'll need someone to do it with you. That's how it works.”

“Look here. The man from the ice has done his homework. I'm charmed.” Tony grinned.

Steve looked at him sideways, smiled mischievously, and popped a blueberry into his mouth. “You could call her Iron America.”

“I could,” he admitted, knowing exactly what they were talking about here. “It's a bit nationalist, but has some nice old fashioned ring to it.” _Iron Liberty_ , he thought and grinned to himself. “You shouldn't be out, should you? Aren't Fury's little agents going to miss you.”

“Nope,” Steve admitted and he looked a littler more relaxed, a little less grave. “They shouldn't have noticed me gone yet.”

Hell of a way to meet Captain America. Hell of a time for heroes.

“I'd trust you with her,” Tony said.

Steve looked up at the nearly assembled machine and smiled a longing smile. “We don't even know each other,” he pointed out, “and I have no idea how to pilot something like that.”

“Can be learned, Cap. Everything can.” He held out his hand again and Steve took it without hesitation. “It was good to meet you, Steve. Humanity never needed their heroes more. Stick around.”

They parted with a nod.

And Tony knew exactly what to do next.

“Don't worry, girl,” he told the Jaeger, “we're all going to get along nicely.”

* * *

Pentecost looked just the slightest bit relieved when Tony told him how close the Jaeger was to completion. His daughter was out there risking her life with every attack that had to be pushed back. Fury just nodded, looking like he had expected Tony to exceed expectation all along. He probably had, too.

“Leaves the matter of choosing pilots.”

“I will pilot it, of course,” he said, refraining from calling his baby “her” in front of the military boys. He had some points to make today.

“Out of the question, Stark.” Fury looked unimpressed.

“Look, I build it, I fly it. That's the deal. You want her, you take the deal. Or you'll get neither of us. End of discussion.”

And they all knew they needed the new Stark Jaeger. There was only the question of bargaining now.

He knew exactly what kind of objections they would throw at him. There was no denying that he was a first grade pilot. Yes, they needed his genius to build new and better machines, to find ways to circumvent the ways the planet was giving out under them with every new Kaiju attack, and they couldn't deny that he had been Iron Man and piloting the Iron Man suit was something else. So wisely they didn't object on the grounds of his skills. Instead Pentecost frowned and threw the one thing at him that he'd been waiting for: A Jaeger had to be piloted by a team.

“Wasn't always that way,” he pointed out, staring the man right in the eye.

“I get it, but we know how that ended,” the man said gruffly.

Fury frowned darkly at both of them, ready to throw the whole issue right off the table just to get Tony out of his non-existent hair and back to his work. Tony had anticipated that, too. But then he shifted around in his chair, meeting Tony's eyes and nodded. Perhaps he'd underestimated the man yet again. “It can't be just anyone. The co-pilot would need to be someone compatible. And you're not the compatible type. But you can have anyone you want if you can find someone like that.” He let his one good eye linger on Tony, making his point.

So, Tony played his trump card. He knew Rhodey was needed where he was, knew that neither SHIELD nor anyone would be ready to pull him out now, knew because he was in constant contact with his friend, even when he shouldn't be.

He could see that Fury thought this was the end of the discussion. “You can't have Rhodes.”

“Pepper and I get along well,” he said, “and she'd be willing I'm sure. But she does have a company to run and I'd rather keep her safe.”

Pentecost looked intrigued.

“She has no combat experience,” Fury pointed out, but even he looked like he had seriously contemplated it.

“So, I can have anyone I want, but not Rhodey?” he asked, because it was time to play his best hand and win the game. The men looked at him darkly, impatient now. They wanted this deal, and they all knew they needed it right now, before the next Kaiju just blew them all away. “Clearly we need a hero type. Someone like, say, Captain America? Or is he doing such invaluable work on the Helicarrier that I can't have him either?” 

And he deliberately stared at Fury, letting him know that this was not some wild guess he was making. Fury glared back, understanding the situation all to well.

Pentecost was about to say something, but stopped when he noticed the staring contest going on. Realization dawned and he too set his eyes son Fury, silently willing him to speak.

“What makes you think the two of you would be compatible? Would even get along long enough to make it one step out of the dome?”

He grinned, but it was Pentecost who answered for him, taking the new information in stride. “Easy enough to find out. If they make it through the trials, I expect the new Stark Jaeger under my command in two months.”

Tony gave him his best shit-eating grin.

One battle won.

* * *

They met in front of the training room.

“We better get this right, Mr. Stark,” Steve said to him, “after you went through all that trouble to get us a trial.”

“I told them we could be up and running in two weeks,” he said with a confident nod. “Don't turn me into a liar.”

Steve laughed, looking like he looked forward to the challenge. “I have no intention to. Let's do it then!”


End file.
